2020 Audi A5 vs BMW 4 Series

What's the difference?

The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI quattro S tronic S line might have an overly fussy name, but this car is almost completely fuss-free to live with, from its comfortable ride and handling to its quality feeling interior and good value for money. There is one area that could be a bit fussier – that three-year warranty. We’d like to see it increased to five years and the introduction of capped-price servicing, too, would add up to an even better value equation and assurance for buyers.

Is now the right time to buy a 4 Series coupe? With the next-generation model a matter of months away, probably not.

That said, those buyers who decide to park a new ‘old’ 4 Series coupe in their driveway will be very pleased with their purchase.

At the end of the day, the current-generation model is still a cracking sports-luxury coupe, and more so when in 440i form. It’s just that good.

The ‘Sportback’ part of the A5 Sportback 45 TFSI name refers to the sedan-with-a-rear-hatch body style. A fastback, if you will.

Now that’s established, I can tell you the A5 Sportback is the second-best-looking Audi in the world. That’s according to me. The only one that looks better is the A5 Coupe, which has a tougher, more muscular and stockier profile than the elegant and elongated Sportback. The difference in looks is down to the wheelbase of the Sportback, which is 60mm longer than the Coupe’s. The Sportback is also 15mm taller, which means more headroom in the back seats.

What about the rest of the dimensions? The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI is 4733mm end-to-end and 2029mm wide (including wing mirrors).

The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI comes with the S line exterior package, which adds sporty bumpers and the mat- grey trim to the diffuser (see the images) – and this is where the S line part of the name comes from.

Anybody who says Audi cabins are all the same, regardless of the model, hasn’t stared at the interior images for the A5, Q5, A3 and Q3 like I just have for the past five minutes. What I found was that while they appear to be identical, and do share many parts, there are pleasing, subtle differences to the button shapes and layouts, which make the cockpits unique to their models.

The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI’s cabin gets its expansive look from the horizontal elements, such as the aluminum strip that borders the dash and the air vents above it.

The 12.3-inch virtual instrument cluster is as good to use as it looks, but that 8.3-inch screen is starting to look small compared to what we’re seeing coming out in newer cars.

The Rock Grey-coloured upholstery doesn’t set my world on fire, but it’s less risky than white as far as grime and stains are concerned.

I found the A5 Sportback 45 TFSI’s interior a little too conservative, but as with all Audi cabins the fit and finish are exceptional and there’s a quality feel to the switch gear, which can’t be said for all of its rivals.

The first-generation 4 Series coupe has aged relatively well, despite sharing most of its design cues with the superseded sixth-generation 3 Series sedan.

Compared to current BMW models, the 4 Series coupe’s signature kidney grille is small, flanked by angry-looking adaptive headlights with hexagonal daytime running lights, all of which are of the LED variety.

The 440i’s standard M Sport body kit adds to the aggressive styling with chunky front bumper with three large air intakes, the outer two of which also contain the LED fog lights.

Around the side, a strong shoulder line stretches from the front wheel arches to beyond their rear counterparts, while BMW’s Air Curtains split the difference between it and the sporty skirts.

The rear end is the 440i’s simplest angle, although its bumper is spruced up with a dark-grey insert and dual exhaust tailpipes. Predictably, L-shaped LED tail-lights punctuate the styling at the rear.

Inside, the 4 Series coupe is holding up well, but it's still clearly a generation behind most other new BMW models.

That said, it’s a throwback we quite like, particularly iDrive6, which is still arguably BMW’s best multimedia system to date. Powering a floating 8.8-inch touchscreen in this instance, it’s just so intuitive, partly thanks to its rotary controller.

An 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster is a late-life addition for the 440i, and while it looks great with its drive mode-specific views, it lacks the breadth of functionality of Audi’s set-up.

The 4 Series coupe’s cabin is otherwise pretty basic despite its apparent emphasis on sportiness, although the selection of luxurious materials used throughout is top-notch.

The entire dashboard, chunky M Sport steering wheel and old-school handbrake lever are trimmed in high-quality leather, while lower-quality Dakota leather covers the sports seats, armrests and door inserts.

Soft-touch plastic is used for the door shoulders and bins, even in the second row, while hard plastic is limited to the centre console, and gloss-black trim is used on the centre stack’s audio and dual-zone climate control surrounds.

The Sportback is the practical alternative to the Coupe. Not only does it have an extra two doors, which open wide for good entry and exit, but the back row has more head and legroom, too. I’m 191cm tall and can sit behind my driving position without my knees hitting the seatback, or my head bashing the ceiling.

The cargo capacity of the Sportback’s boot is 15 litres more than the Coupe’s at 480 litres.

There are four cup holders on board, but apart from that cabin storage isn’t great, with only a small centre-console bin, map pockets in the seat backs and small-ish door pockets. The lack of storage seems to be an Audi trait, and even the brand’s SUVs lack adequate places to stow items.

The 2019 update brought two charge-only USB ports in the second row and there’s also a 12V outlet and climate control with directional vents back there. There are another two USBs and a 12V outlet up front, along with a wireless phone charger.

Measuring 4640mm long, 1825mm wide and 1377mm tall, the 440i coupe is a true mid-sizer, and that means it’s surprisingly practical – for the most part.

Cargo capacity is more than solid, at 445L, but stow the 60/40 split-fold rear bench via a pair of manual latches located in the boot and more storage space is quickly liberated.

To make matters even better, the boot has two bag hooks and four tie-down points, making securing a load a cinch. That said, the high load lip means bulkier items can require a little more effort to accommodate.

Up front, the door bins are large enough for a regular bottle each, while a pair of cupholders separate the gear selector from a seriously shallow storage tray.

The central storage bin is on the shallow side, too, albeit not to the same degree as the dedicated storage tray. That said, much of its space can be taken up by the optional wireless smartphone charger ($200), which was fitted to our test car.

The glovebox tries its best to make up for the lack of genuine in-cabin storage options by being quite large, while storage nets are attached to the backs of the front seats.

Rear occupants can also make use of a large storage tray that resides where a middle seat would otherwise go. They also have access to a fold-down central armrest that incorporates two more cupholders.

Speaking of armrests, the rear side ones are incredibly narrow, leaving tired elbows in a bit of a pickle.

It’s not all bad news in the second row, though, as legroom and toe-room behind our 184cm driving position are very generous, with the former offering several inches of wriggle room.

We’d go as far as to say the rear quarters are comfortable, but that would require ignoring the fact that headroom is seriously compromised with the optional power-operated sunroof ($3000) fitted, with our head pressed firmly against the 440i coupe’s Anthracite roofliner.

Either way, child seats can be fitted in the second row, with ISOFIX anchorage points available for the outer seats. Speaking of which, it’s worth noting ingress and egress to the rear bench isn’t too bad, with the front seats folding forward via manual latches.

Connectivity-wise, two USB-A ports are found in the first row, split between the centre stack and the central storage bin, while three 12V power outlets are spread across the front and rear of the centre console, and the boot.

The 440i coupe is priced from $103,200 plus on-road costs, positioning it as a more affordable alternative to its main rivals, the Audi S5 coupe ($105,400) and Mercedes-AMG C43 coupe ($116,500), although it’s not as fully featured.

Standard equipment not already mentioned in the 440i coupe includes dusk-sensing lights, rain-sensing wipers, 19-inch alloy wheels, a mixed set of run-flat tyres (front: 225/40, rear: 255/35) and power-folding side mirrors with heating.

Inside, satellite navigation with live traffic, digital radio, a 600W Harman/Kardon sound system with 16 speakers, a windshield-projected head-up display, keyless entry and start, power-adjustable front seats with heating, an auto-dimming rearview mirror and ambient lighting feature.

The 45 in A5 Sportback 45 TFSI refers to the engine’s power output, which is 185kW and 370Nm. Why 45? That’s the Audi designation for engines with an output of between 169kW and 185kW. Sitting below the 45 is an A5 Sportback 40 TFSI, which makes 140kW.

TFSI refers to the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and, along with the higher output, the A5 Sportback 45 TFSI is all-wheel drive (that’s the quattro part) while a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic (that’s the S tronic part) shifts gears fairly seamlessly, and super quickly.

The 440i coupe is motivated by a silky smooth 3.0-litre turbo-petrol in-line six-cylinder engine that punches out 240kW of power at 5500rpm and 450Nm of torque from 1380-5000rpm.

An equally silky smooth eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission exclusively sends drive to the rear wheels – a characteristic that has become a rarity in this segment.

This combination helps the 440i coupe sprint from a standstill to 100km/h in a scant five seconds flat with launch control engaged, according to BMW. Its top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h.

Audi says the A5 Sportback 45 TFSI should use 6.5L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads. I put 202km on the clock of my test car and the trip computer was telling me I’d been using premium unleaded at an average of 9.5L/100km.

Helping save fuel is Audi’s stop-start system, which, as much as I’m not a fan of the way it cuts in, I kept activated the entire time.

The 440i coupe will drink a claimed 6.8 litres per 100 kilometres on the combined cycle, while its carbon dioxide emissions are 159 grams per kilometre.

Our week of testing skewed towards city driving over highway stints, and we averaged 8.6L/100km, which is impressive given the six-cylinder performance on offer. And yes, we did put it to use...

The 440i coupe's 60L fuel tank takes 95RON petrol at minimum.

The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI is comfortable, quick and effortless to pilot. Steering is light and accurate, the ride is composed and, while it’s not super-fast (0-100km/h in six seconds) there’s enough shove from that 2.0-litre engine that I could move quickly when needed, whether it was threading my way in city traffic or overtaking on the motorway.

Not sporty enough for you? Well the upside of Audi’s line-up having so many different variants is that you can step up to something more hardcore, like the S5 or the RS5. Still the A5 Sportback 45 TFSI is impressively dynamic, with great grip and unfaltering traction from its quattro all-wheel-drive system.

The 440i coupe toe the line between sports car and luxury vehicle very, very well.

The straight-line performance is definitely there thanks to its in-line six-cylinder unit, which is one of our favourite engines in any vehicle – period.

From top to bottom, the 3.0-litre unit is absolutely delicious. Maximum torque kicks in just above idle and remains on tap deep into the top end, at which point a fleeting moment of peak power is just 500rpm away. Needless to say, acceleration is strong.

Remarkably, the engine’s twin-scroll turbo exhibits next to no lag, making for a unit that you truly want to wring out. That said, don’t expect aural pleasure when you do so, as the sound it generates is lacklustre. Yep, no enticing crackles or pops are heard here.

The automatic transmission ties everything together beautifully, providing timely, quick and smooth gear changes on the regular, even without its Sport mode engaged. And, of course, there are paddle-shifters on hand if you want to take matters into your own hands – literally.

Given the 440i coupe’s apparent performance bent, you’d be forgiven for thinking it rides like an unforgiving sports car. Well, the good news is it doesn’t.

Consisting of MacPherson-strut front and multi-link rear axles with adaptive dampers, its independent suspension set-up stands up really well to Australian roads.

While potholes and coarse-chip roads would usually be met with hesitation, the 440i coupe silences the doubters with its composed ride. Can you feel them? Yes, but they’re relatively muted, especially in a car with sporty aspirations, like this one. 

Cornering is a lot of fun, too, thanks to excellent body control. Tip its 1555kg kerb weight into a corner with intent and you’re quickly reminded why SUVs are nowhere near this fun to drive.

Simply put, the 440i coupe loves a twisty stretch of road, where its M Sport brakes (front: four-piston fixed callipers, rear: two-pot floating stoppers) and traditional rear-wheel-drive dynamics come out to play.

This experience is enhanced by its superb electric power steering, which is speed-sensitive, meaning it’s quick at low speed, for improved manoeuvrability, and ‘slow’ at high speed, for improved stability.

We absolutely adore this particular system, mainly because of its perfect weighting and surprising amount of feel. And in a surprise to no-one, it also turns in really well, too.

Of course, if you want to take the 440i coupe’s handling to the next level, you can engage its Sport drive mode, which stiffens up the adaptive dampers for even flatter cornering and adds more heft to the electric power steering. But we’d say both are unnecessary.

Advanced driver-assist systems in the 440i coupe extend to low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, a manual speed limiter, speed-sign recognition, high-beam assist, park assist, surround-view cameras, front and rear parking sensors, hill-start assist and tyre pressure monitoring.

Other standard safety equipment includes six airbags (dual front, side and curtain), electronic stability and traction control systems, anti-lock brakes (ABS) and brake assist, among others.

That said, high-speed AEB, lane-keep assist and rear cross-traffic alert are among the notable exclusions.

Neither ANCAP nor its European sibling, Euro NCAP, have awarded the 4 Series a safety rating yet.

The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI is covered by Audi’s three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended at 15,000km/12-month intervals. A three-year plan is available for $1800 in total, while a five-year plan can be bought for $2810.

Audi, along with its BMW and Benz rivals, continues to offer less warranty coverage than the mainstream brands and the low score here reflects this duration, and the lack of individual capped-price servicing.

As with all BMW models, the 4 Series comes with a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with three years of roadside assistance, both of which are two years short of the premium standard now set by Mercedes-Benz.

The 440i coupe’s service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Owners can opt for a $1650 five-year/80,000km capped-price servicing plan, which is well-priced.